It is amusing to watching Diamondbacks executives from a distance. They are in a perpetual competition to one-up each other, from owner Ken Kendrick to President Derrick Hall to special assistant Luis Gonzalez. The competitive juices peak, however, with General Manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson.

“They really try and get each other,” Hall said.

He’s not kidding. …

At the beginning of each spring training, Diamondbacks pitchers are timed in the 1-mile run at Salt River Fields. Before the exercise, Gibson and Towers sit in a golf cart and try to predict a winner by scrutinizing the field like potential race-horse owners scouting thoroughbreds.

“We’re just looking at body types, the way they move,” Towers said. …

Towers has won two of three seasons. Joe Paterson gave him a victory in 2011 and Joe Martinez in 2012, although Gibson tried to appeal that, Towers said, rolling his eyes.

“(Martinez) had asthma and went to an inhaler halfway around.” …

Gibson recorded his first victory over Towers this season by picking Trevor Cahill.

“I didn’t know Cahill was in as good of shape as he was,” Towers grumbled. …

It gets worse.

Like the players, Diamondbacks executives have their blood work done as part of a preseason physical.

Gibson and Towers couldn’t wait to compare results.

“My cholesterol overall was lower than his, which upset him, but his good cholesterol was better than mine,” Towers said.

“By the next test,” Hall said, “(Gibson) will make sure all his cholesterol is better than KT’s.” …

These guys clearly can’t help themselves.

Last season after a Diamondbacks victory, the two stopped in at Shady’s bar in Phoenix for a beer when Gibson suddenly turned to Towers and said, “What kind of pool player are you?”

“Pretty good pool player,” Towers said.

“Let’s play.”

And they did, with Gibson winning the game on “some double-bank shot,” Tower said.

“It crushed my night. He had bragging rights. I went home afterward pretty upset that I had lost in pool.” …

Stay away from Camelback Mountain if the two are hiking together.

“We’ve almost killed one another going up and coming back down,” Towers said. “We’re literally sprinting down and sliding on rocks just to see who gets to the bottom first.” …

Like most competitive people, Towers takes losing hard.

Gibson is a big believer in running stadium steps, which is what the coaching staff was doing after batting practice one 100-degree day before the team played Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

“Cardio-wise, I’ve always hung pretty good with him, but I couldn’t and it really bothered me,” Towers said. “I was ruined. I think I left and went and saw an amateur on a scouting trip because I didn’t want to get ripped for like two days.” …

Others have picked up on the competition.

Last season, the staff went running along the marina outside the Giants’ AT&T Park. Towers had pulled ahead of Gibson when he suddenly heard a voice:

“Mr. Towers, Gibby’s cheating.”

A man sitting near the water had picked up on the competition and claimed he caught Gibson pulling up short and heading back before the others.

The competition among Diamondbacks executives can even be found happening long after the competition on the field is over. Hall and Kendrick leave Salt River Fields at the same time, and as soon as their cars clear the area where pedestrians and fans roam, they race to see who can get to the freeway first.

And when Hall arrives to the ballpark around 5:15a.m., he always looks for Kendrick’s car.

“We sort of have a competition of who gets here in the morning first,” he said. “Whosever car is there, the other one always has got an excuse to why he wasn’t there.” …

Kendrick acknowledged he and Hall are competitive in just about every arena and even mused that the two both had prostate cancer.

Geez, who wins that one?

“We both win,” Kendrick said, “by being healthy.”

Reach Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com and follow her at Twitter.com/PaolaBoivin. Listen to her on “Big Guy on Sports” on pros2preps.com with Brad Cesmat every Monday at 12:30 p.m. on XTRA Sports 910.

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